The timely flight will coincide with the 50th anniversary of New York City’s Stonewall Uprising, an event viewed as a crucial turning point in the history of LGBTQ rights.

In a dress rehearsal for the historic connection, Virgin has released a suitably flamboyant preview of the stratospheric hijinx which await passengers with Broadway star Tituss Burgess taking the lead as the pilot, flanked by drag Queen cabin crew as they made a dramatic entrance at Gatwick Airport.

Next summer Burgess will offer passengers his own unique brand of in-flight entertainment, overseeing everything from DJ-ing to drag-queen bingo, a Judy Garland singalong and inter-seat speed dating.

Mark Anderson, global LGBT lead for Virgin Group and executive vice president at Virgin Atlantic said: “We take our commitments to diversity and inclusion seriously, but you can rest assured we have a lot of fun along the way. This is going to be a show-stopping, ground-breaking, one-of-a-kind experience that we can’t wait to bring to the skies next June.”

Kat Thomas, founder and executive creative director of One Green Bean, added: “Developing the creative and the PR strategy for the launch of the Pride Flight has been brilliant, a dream brief. The Virgin commitment to celebrating diversity is unparalleled and as an agency, we couldn’t be prouder to be flying the flag too.”

The campaign is being conducted in partnership with NYC & Company and the Alliance for Downtown New York, supported by accompanying PR, social media and web content.